In the canon of Paris narratives, few focus on oddball finds and secrets lurking right beneath our noses. But Vanessa Grall, more commonly known and Messy Nessy, has made it her calling card. For more than a decade she has sussed out offbeat tales and fascinating individuals who have shaped our world and published several guidebooks to help travelers get beyond the obvious. More than a year ago, she opened a storefront, Messy Nessy’s Cabinet, a shop full of curiosities she joins me to talk about today. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Messy Nessy Chic

Messy Nessy's Cabinet

Bottled Seine water

Suzanne Valadon

Don't Be a Tourist guides

Messy Nessy Instagram

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠

So far, the year in Paris has been bright — at least in a cultural sense. The Louvre Museum is leading the charge with its very first full-fledged fashion exhibition in its 232-year history. To talk about why it’s significant, what visitors can expect, and the cultural context surrounding the pieces on display is Amy Verner, a fashion journalist and longtime Paris resident who has likely spent more time pondering the works inside the Louvre than all of my listeners combined. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Amy Verner

Louvre Couture

Olivier Gabet

Louvre renovation plan

Elaine Sciolino's new book "Adventures in the Louvre"

Like many people living in France, I took a break from alcohol during the imported milestone of Dry January. But we’re in February, and two wine fairs have brought wine lovers and wine pros to the city for talks, tastings, and buying. Wine consumption has been dropping steadily in France, and sales have declined since the 1970s.

So what’s happening here? How are people drinking? Are they drinking? What’s the status of natural wine today? Where should people go to drink well in Paris if they’re going to do so? I'm joined by Alicia Dorey, a wine journalist who writes regularly for Le Figaro, to talk about the ins and outs of wine consumption.

Mentioned in this episode:

Alicia Dorey

Alicia's book A Nos Ivresses

Austrian wine pop-up in Paris

Les Caves Legrand

Vivant and Déviant

Augustin Marchand d'Vins

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠

A quick one from me to kickoff season 9 and share some fun news: I have a new book coming out this spring!

The Eater Guide to Paris hits shelves on April 29 in the U.S. /Australia/Europe and on May 8 in the U.K., wherever books are sold. A few links below to pre-order now:

Abrams (publisher)

Bookshop.org

Barnes & Noble

Amazon (U.S.)

Shakespeare & Co

Waterstones

Indigo Books

Booktopia (Australia)

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠

I'm recording new episodes for season 9 (coming soon!) but I wanted to bring back some of the most appreciated episodes of the show in the meantime. I originally recorded this episode with Comice co-owner and sommelière Etheliya Hananova in March 2022, and it ranks among the most listened-to since I first started recording in 2017.

She talks about the journey from Montreal to Paris, the type of dining environment she and her husband, Comice's chef, Noam set out to create, and what it means to be working in wine in Paris on her terms.

Book a table at Comice

Follow Comice on Instagram

This month is my 18th December living in Paris, and as I reflect on that time, I’m struck by how much the city still enchants and surprises me. It might be a buzzy neighborhood, a refurbished historical marvel like Notre Dame, a dining experience, or something more unexpected. Someone in the business of sussing out and building such experiences, including some I have attended, is today’s guest Catherine Down. She’s a food writer and travel and event consultant who joins to talk about the most surprising spaces and experiences in Paris, what she finds so meaningful about the city after 12 years as a resident and what she recommends if you’re coming to town this month. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Catherine Down

Catherine's newsletter

Catherine on Instagram

Modern Love NYT essay

Caractère de Cochon

Le Marché Saint Germain

Ice Skating at the Grand Palais 

Café Mirabelle

Le Doyenné 

Repaire de Cartouche 

Le Baron Rouge 

Le Bon Marché 

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠

In times of turmoil, we naturally seek sources of calm. And in Paris, perhaps nothing that recenters Parisians more than the Seine. The city’s most iconic waterway has shaped its mythology long before there were tourist boats and selfie-taking travelers. Today, the significance of the Seine is front and center again, thanks to the Olympics and a billion-euro cleanup project. To talk about this, I’m joined by my friend and fellow journalist Mary Winston Nicklin, who reported National Geographic’s cover story on the Seine earlier this year.

Mentioned in this episode:

⁠Mary Winston Nicklin⁠

⁠National Geographic Cover Story (Online edition)⁠

The ancient goddess of the Seine River: Sequana

⁠The Man Who Swam the Seine⁠ (GQ)

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠⁠

Did you know that Arabic is the second most spoken language in France? However, the way it is perceived and taught has led many Arabic speakers in France to either abandon the language or not pass it down to their children. It’s this particular experience that the journalist Nabil Wakim sought to investigate in his documentary for France 2, Mauvaise Langue. He joins the show to talk about the project, what has been done, or not done, politically to boost Arabic instruction and France’s relationship with the Arabic language.

Mentioned in this episode:

Nabil Wakim, Le Monde

L’Arabe pour Tous book

Mauvaise Langue documentary

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, former minister of education under François Hollande

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men⁠

It’s been several months since the President threw us into a mess by calling a snap election and in early September, months overdue, Macron finally named a prime minister. What does his choice mean for the country, and what does it signal to voters who cast their ballots for the left coalition? I speak with Alexander Hurst, a writer and columnist for The Guardian whose recent op-ed looks into what went wrong and what issues the new government inherits. 

Mentioned or featured in this episode:

Alexander Hurst

French politics analogy in the Guardian op-ed

Alexander's op-ed column for The Guardian

French debt

French taxes

Audio production & editing: Matthew Jordan

⁠Music by Little Glass Men

After enduring nearly a year of pandemic-related isolation and a punishing lack of human touch, author Glynnis MacNicol boarded a plane for Paris in August, 2021 to sublet a friend’s apartment for the month. She was 47 years old and on a mission—100% enjoyment. An exploration of pleasure. Close contact. Her memoir about this time, called I’m Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself, came out a few months ago and I was delighted to interview her in Paris last week at The Red Wheelbarrow bookstore. This episode is a recording of that conversation.

Mentioned in this episode:

Glynnic MacNicol

Order "I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself"

Glynnis's New York Times Op-ed

Glynnis on CBS Morning